It was meant to be a shocker says PK Jain on quitting

Top cop is upset the way police officers are treated by the government

Additional director general of police PK Jain, who resigned from the Indian Police Service (IPS) on Friday, just a week before his retirement, says he took the step to send a strong message to the government.

"It was meant to be a shocker," Jain told dna on Monday.

His resignation and its timing surprised many in the government as well as in police circles. The police officer who has been in the service for 33 years was to retire on February 28.

"I will not call it a protest, but it is notional. I wanted to send a message," Jain said. He said he had not taken a decision on whether to join a political party, but he was keeping all options open.

"I knew that I am going to be asked why I am quitting a week before retirement. But when I thought about it, that was the best way I could have conveyed my point," Jain said.

His main grouse is the poor treatment meted out to IPS officers by the state government. "Senior officers who were on central deputation were kept waiting for months and after all the waiting, they were sent to insignificant postings. These are officers who have a very good reputation and have served with high-profile government agencies. It is sad they were treated like this," the officer lamented.

"There are some officers who have been on executive postings for 10-12 years, while there are some officers who have been neglected and kept on non-executive postings for several years," Jain said.

He has not heard yet from the home department on his resignation and so continues in his post as additional director general (special operations).

Jain belongs to the 1981 batch of IPS. He was also secretary of the Maharashtra state IPS officers' association. He has held several posts, including principal secretary (home), joint commissioner of police (administration), Mumbai, and managing director of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation.